Centralized Classroom and Event Scheduling FAQs

Central Scheduling:  Central Scheduling is comprised of four coordinated units/divisions on campus with general responsibility to the Policy for Centralized Classroom and Event Scheduling as follows: 

  1. Registrar’s Office – is responsible for scheduling classrooms for Priority 1 courses after the exclusivity period and for scheduling Priority 2-3 academic related events.
  2. Campus Reservations, Events, & Technical Services (CRETS) – is responsible for scheduling Priority 3-5 non-academic related events in rooms for users other than those for which those rooms have been pre-designated after the event exclusivity period for Academic units. 
  3. Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) – is responsible for advising and working with Academic units to maintain their pre-designated space.   
  4. Facilities Management Division (FMD) – is responsible for providing access to rooms for use after normal instructional hours (e.g., before 8 am or after 5 pm, or on weekends), and providing other facilities services requested by customary processes. 

Priority contact information for these units/divisions in Central Scheduling are:

Unit Website
Registrar’s Office Classroom Scheduling
Campus Reservations, Events, & Technical Services Reservations
Center for Teaching and Learning Center for Teaching and Learning
Facilities Management Division FMD Work Request Form
WorkRequestForm.aspx

 

For the purposes of the use of space that is pre-designated or not pre-designated to an Academic unit, the following stakeholders and responsibilities have been identified: 

  1. Host Academic unit. The Host is the Academic unit with approval from the Provost’s Office to use the space as their pre-designated space.  The Host Academic unit is expected to maintain its pre-designated space in a manner consistent with the Policy for Centralized Classroom and Event Scheduling.  The Host Academic unit should determine the best way to place and store room contents, room-specific artifacts and specimens to minimize the potential for damage when the room is used by a visiting/other academic units or groups. If the Host Academic unit wants to change the seating type, number of seats, or anything that might affect the pedagogy options for courses being taught there, they should speak with Space Management about the proposed changes. Any changes that would repurpose a room from being instructional to non-instructional must be approved by the Centralized Scheduling Appeals committee.
     
  2. Central Scheduling. Central Scheduling will: 
      1. keep room information in 25Live current and detailed enough so all Stakeholders are aware of pertinent details about a room, its capabilities, and contents,

      1. act on issues in a timely manner,

      1. advise Host Academic units and visiting/other Academic units or groups on special needs or situations that may arise,

      1. facilitate and coordinate building and room access, as well as secure the room door and building after use by the visiting/other Academic unit or group, and

    1. be responsible for assessing and resolving any conflicts that may arise.     
  3. Visiting/Other Academic units or groups. Visiting/Other Academic units or groups may receive authorization to use a room which is not their pre-designated space.  The visiting/other Academic unit or group is expected to: 
      1. review details about the room in 25Live and visit the room in advance so that it is knowledgeable about the room and its contents.

      1. care for the room and all items in the room as if it were their pre-designated space. The Academic unit or group cannot bring any food or drink into the room unless there is explicit prior permission from the Host Academic unit or from Central Scheduling. After room use, all furnishings must be returned to their original position and all trash must be picked up and placed in receptacles. Failure to care for the room may result in the future denial for use of the room.

    1. pre-arrange with the Host Academic unit for Priority 1 courses to be held during normal instructional hours (8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday). However, for Priority 1 courses after hours, and for all Priority 2-5 events, Central Scheduling will pre-arrange access to the building and room on behalf of the visiting/other Academic units or groups. 
The University of Georgia uses the 25Live space scheduling software to manage and schedule room assignments for course sections and events. Within 25Live is a feature known as the Room Assignment Optimizer which allows for the efficient and bulk assignment of rooms while ensuring the best possible room utilization and offering an impartial method to room assignments. This optimization process is conducted by the Office of the Registrar during the Central Scheduling Period.

The Room Assignment Optimizer in the 25Live software is used to schedule course sections in classrooms. The factors used to complete room assignments are:

  • Instructor teaching back-to-back classes (it will schedule them in the same building if possible)
  • Seat fill (best fill for class in classroom) 
  • Preferences submitted to the Office of the Registrar regarding specific location or room feature
  • Nearness to the subject’s home building

All subjects and courses are considered equally and have the same opportunity to receive rooms based on the factors above.

A link to the classroom Preference Form is sent by the Registrar’s Office via email to all course section schedulers approximately 2-3 weeks before the Central Scheduling Period. The schedulers can use the form to indicate any course section with special requirements such as location or classroom features (technology, seating, etc.).

It is assumed that all courses are expecting to be located as near as possible to the host department location. There is no need to submit a form to indicate this desire. However, if it is preferred for the course to be located in another area of campus, the form should be used.

If specific seating or technology is noted on the form, it will be treated as mandatory for teaching the course. If there is not a room available with that specific seating type or technology, the course will be left without a room. Another time period will then need to be chosen to then find the room requirements for the course.

Submitting a classroom preference can assist departments in scheduling courses in classrooms that they could not schedule in their designated spaces. A classroom preference is also a way for course section schedulers to inform the Registrar’s Office of special requests (location, technology, seating, etc.) that need to be factored into the classroom scheduling optimization process. For example, if a course section can only be taught in a computer lab, then a preference request should be submitted in order for the Registrar’s Office to know only that type of room can be considered in the classroom scheduling optimization process for the specified course section. 

During the classroom scheduling optimization process, over 2,000 course sections are assigned classrooms. The complex process of assigning classrooms is analogous to putting together a very large jigsaw puzzle and all of the pieces cannot fit in the same space.

If a course does not receive a room during the classroom scheduling optimization process, then it is usually because every room with the appropriate size, in the appropriate area of campus, and at the specified date/time has already been assigned. The Office of the Registrar will contact the departmental schedulers for the course sections that were not assigned a classroom to discuss a possible secondary time period preference or other location preferences. The Office of the Registrar will offer the departments as much information as possible to help the department determine the best alternative in order to accommodate the class. 

Before instructional space can be reserved for the event, a request to schedule tests outside of the courses regularly scheduled period must be submitted to Vice President for Instruction. Once the request is approved, the Vice President for Instruction will provide a copy of the approval memo to the requesting department and the Registrar’s Office. Upon receipt of the approval, the requesting department will submit a room reservation request form to classrooms@uga.edu. Once the events have been scheduled, a room reservation confirmation will be emailed to the requestor.
No, building and room information is not rolled from term-to-term in Banner. Only the CRNs and basic course section information rolls from term-to-term.
If you believe the primary function of the room is not instruction, then an appeal to the Centralized Scheduling Appeals Committee should be submitted for review. For more information about appeals, please review the Policy for Centralized Classroom and Event Scheduling. 
No, only space that is coded as instructional space in the facilities database is available for centralized scheduling. Conference rooms are only scheduled by the department and courses will not be scheduled in the room. 
No, Banner can only show conflicts with other course sections since all event scheduling information is only in 25Live. Therefore, after event scheduling has begun for the term, schedulers must check 25Live prior to updating building/room information in Banner to confirm there are no conflicts with scheduled events. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Registrar’s Office for assistance.
In order to help maximize classroom usage, the Office of the Registrar has established a procedure to release rooms that are being held but not actually needed for each term. The Registrar’s Office will only remove building and room information on sections per the guidelines provided on the Release of Rooms page of the Registrar’s website.
The Office for the Vice President of Instruction has compiled a list of STEM courses that utilize the SLC lecture and SCALE-UP rooms for instruction.